FX’s ‘The Bridge’ Takes a Tumble in Second Week

Drama set on U.S.-Mexico border drops about 40% to 1.74 million; 'Boo Boo' scores for TLC

FX drama “The Bridge” proved to be an especially big gainer in DVR playback with its premiere last week, and the net is sure hoping that continues because the series didn’t fare very well in its regular timeslot on Wednesday.

According to Nielsen same-night viewing data, “The Bridge” averaged 1.74 million viewers with its 10-11:15 p.m. episode on Wednesday, down 42% from its premiere. It was down 43% in adults 18-49 rating (0.52 vs. 0.91) and off 38% in adults 25-54 (0.68 vs. 1.09).

FX saw declines nearly as steep earlier this year for “The Americans,” which bowed with 3.22 million and then fell off to 1.97 million in its second week. But it fared well enough throughout the course of its run to earn a second season.

In Nielsen’s Live + 3 data for its premiere last week (DVR playback within three days), “The Bridge” surged from 3.043 million to 4.643 million. This was the biggest jump FX has seen in L3, and it means “The Bridge” surpassed other recent drama premieres on the network, including “The Americans” (4.525 million) and “American Horror Story” (4.182 million).

When final Live + 7 estimates arrive, “The Bridge” has a shot at being the network’s biggest drama premiere on record, a record currently held by “The Americans” (5.114 million).

Elsewhere Wednesday, TLC’s “Here Comes Honey Boo” kicked off its second season by averaging a 1.0 in adults 18-49 and nearly 2.9 million viewers overall for a pair of half-hour episodes. This was the second largest audience for the show, behind only an hourlong Halloween special that topped 3 million.

And among women 18-49, the 9:30 episode stood as cable’s No. 1 program of the night.

USA’s “Royal Pains” continues to pick up steam after a sluggish start to the season. It was Wednesday’s No. 1 scripted cable original (0.9/2 in 18-49, 3.82 million viewers overall).

ESPN’s annual awards show “The ESPYS” (1.1/3 in 18-49, 2.27 million viewers overall) was down 6% in total viewers from last year.